The Resume

(July 6, 1924-February 14, 2009)
Born in Rock Falls, Illinois
Birth name was Luigi Paulino Alfredo Francesco Antonio Balassoni
Jazz drummer
Played in the bands of Benny Goodman, Count Basie, Harry James, Jimmy and Tommy Dorsey and Duke Ellington
Married Pearl Bailey (1952-90) and served as her musical director
Recorded the albums '150 MPH' (1974), 'Explosion' (1975), 'Prime Time' (1977), 'Dynamite' (1979), 'Don't Stop Now' (1984), 'Airmail Special: A Salute to the Big Band Masters' (1990), 'Louie Bellson and His Big Band: Live from New York' (1994) and 'The Sacred Music of Louie Bellson and the Jazz Ballet' (2008)

Why he might be annoying:

His birth name was ludicrously long.
Although he popularized the double-bass drum, he said a single bass is all a good drummer needs.
He jumped ship to join Benny Goodman's band without telling his first band's leader, Ted Fio Rito.
The one Broadway show he wrote, Portofino, closed after three performances (1958).

Why he might not be annoying:

Duke Ellington said, 'Not only is Louie Bellson the world's greatest drummer, he's the world's greatest musician.'
At age 17, he won the Slingerland National Gene Krupa drumming contest, beating out 40,000 competitors.
He and Bailey adopted two children.
He received a Jazz Masters Award from the National Endowment of the Arts (1994) and a Living Jazz Legends Award from the Kennedy Center (2007).
He remained active into his 80s, joking about his double-bass drumming, 'I'm not that old. I'm 40 in this leg, and 40 in the other leg.'

Credit: C. Fishel

Featured in the following Annoying Collections:

• C. Fishel's Profiles [Series 18]
• Drummers
• Ed Sullivan Show Guests
• I Adopted a Child
• I Appeared on Jerry Lewis' MDA Telethon [A-B]
• I Died in 2009 (Ranked: 84)
• I Have Parkinson Disease
• I Married in 1992
• I Married Outside My Race
• Jazz Artists
• Look at Me, I've Been Caught with Alcohol
• Look at My Drums
• Nobody Told Me I'm Old
• Profiles 25001-25250 (Ranked: 25099)

Year In Review:

In 2023, Out of 1 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2022, Out of 2 Votes: 0% Annoying
In 2021, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
In 2020, Out of 6 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2019, Out of 4 Votes: 50.0% Annoying
In 2018, Out of 2 Votes: 100% Annoying
In 2017, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2016, Out of 3 Votes: 66.67% Annoying
In 2015, Out of 6 Votes: 16.67% Annoying
In 2014, Out of 17 Votes: 47.06% Annoying
In 2013, Out of 14 Votes: 35.71% Annoying
In 2012, Out of 18 Votes: 38.89% Annoying
In 2011, Out of 12 Votes: 25.00% Annoying
In 2010, Out of 22 Votes: 45.45% Annoying
In 2009, Out of 134 Votes: 37.31% Annoying